Life in Dresden

Welcome to PoL

First-class basic research requires excellent talent. In order to recruit and retain highly qualified staff, the area of childcare and measures for reconciling career and family life is also becoming increasingly the focus of scientific organizations. A career path in science is feasible only if it is appropriately designed for families.

The Cluster of Excellence PoL therefore attaches great importance to family friendliness and offers extensive measures to facilitate the balancing act between career and family life.

Do you need help with family-related questions? The PoL Office would like to assist you with important issues such as health insurance, dealing with the authorities, recruitment documents, etc., so that you can focus on your scientific career from the very beginning. In any case, please feel free and contact us. We will help you with concrete information and on-site measures.

With regard to fundamental questions or in difficult individual cases, the PoL administration may consult the city of Dresden or the Administrative Headquarters of the University.

Science Community

Scientific curiosity and the goal of gaining new knowledge are central motivating factors in choosing and pursuing a particular profession. In addition to research activities, scientific careers are also strongly influenced by interactions with colleagues, typically within professional societies, research alliances and subject-specific conferences.

PoL supports the formation of cross-sectional networks during all scientific career stages. These PoL-wide networks include institutes of the Dresden Concept network for example from the main TU-Dresden campus, Max Planck- as well as Leibnitz institutes.

We promote the exchange of information on a professional level as well as the joint representation of professional interests and personal networking on an interdisciplinary level.

Highlights of Dresden

Dresden is incredibly green with its parks and the wide, lush meadows along the Elbe, as well as its gardens and forests. Either you go to the opera, exhibitions, concerts or hiking in Saxonian Switzerland, it’s possible to reach everything by bike or public transport. Dresden is wonderfully diverse and exudes variety and zest for life through the mass of cultural possibilities. Dresden is center-fed due to its proximity to Prague, Leipzig, and Berlin.

View from standing on the Brühlsche Terrasse in Dresden towards the Academy of Fine Arts, the Dresden Cathedral, and the Semper Opera (on the left hand side) and the river Elbe (on the right hand side). In the foreground a treetop hanging into the picture and a gas lantern.
View from standing on the Brühlsche Terrasse in Dresden towards the Academy of Fine Arts, the Dresden Cathedral, and the Semper Opera with the river Elbe to the right.

Arts & Culture

Art and culture are always a part of Dresden. Whether in the famous collections in Zwinger or Albertinum, on the great stages in Semperoper or Festspielhaus Hellerau or on streets, squares and parks. As a European cultural metropolis, Dresden offers its visitors attractions of the highest order. More than 800 years of architectural and cultural history combine here dynamically with modern developments in architecture, art, music and theater. Top performances of world culture are cultivated and presented here.